DC and MD Matrimonial Lawyer Focusing on Custody, Divorce and Prenups
For over 20 years, Regina A. DeMeo has been helping families in MD and DC with custody and divorce issues either through mediation, litigation or advocacy. She is an alumna of Georgetown University and GW University Law School, who is nationally recognized as a top matrimonial attorney. She is frequently quoted in the media for her ideas to promote healthier relationships and featured in the Washington Post, ABA Journal and Bethesda Magazine for her care and commitment to her clients. As a legal commentator, she has appeared on Washington Post Express Facebook Live, ABC tv, Good Morning America, MMCTV, YouTube and Sirius XM, and has been quoted in various magazines, books and journals across the country.
Regina offers appointments in Maryland and DC. Her areas of practice include:
Latest Blog Posts by GenXSmartie
What Should You Do When Your Friends Decide to Split?
Holidays are funny-- it's that time of year when a lot of couples decide to get hitched, and it is also common to hear couples have decided to split. If your friends are in the latter category, you may feel torn trying to figure out what should you do in response. Here's my advice: try to see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. Inevitably, one or both of your friends will want to tell you their version of what led to the breakdown. What I have learned over the years as a divorce lawyer is that there really is her version, his version, and then the truth is somewhere in the middle. Each person can only tell you the story from his/her own point of view, but if you can just take a few steps back (rather than getting sucked in or pulled to one side) you may find things are not so black and white, and indeed you may come to appreciate a bit of what I see everyday, which is a splendid spectrum of varying shades of gray. Unless you are the actual judge that gets to decide the couple's fate, why do you need to see all the evidence and hear all the gory details about the demise of a marriage? Just accept that [...]
How Do You Cope With 2 Homes, 2 Sets of Rules?
In an ideal world, whether children are being raised in an intact family household or not, the goal would be to keep things simple for them by having them deal with just one set of rules. Unfortunately, most children of divorced couples will at some point or another experience situations where their parents are not on the same page. While sometimes parents can work with an expert to get on the same page, sometimes there are just fundamental differences in values or parenting styles that we need to accept (even if you don't respect those choices), and this is where despite our personal preferences we need to teach our children to learn to compartmentalize and live with two homes, two sets of rules. It is not easy for me to have to explain to my divorce clients that the court cannot force someone to parent a certain way-- if someone is okay with a messy room, letting the child eat junk food and/or play video games all weekend, there is NOTHING we can do about that. We cannot control what someone does with his/her child during their time together-- unless of course it becomes a true danger to the child, and that is when the authorities will intervene. Otherwise, we all need to learn to let things go, and I [...]
Are Your Emotions Clouding Your Judgment?
Have you ever felt like you were starring in a bad movie, and at some point you could almost hear a little voice in your head saying "how did things get to this point?" Well, if it is of any consolation, we have all been there. The key is how quickly can you find the way to gracefully exit Stage Left? Sometimes the door is right there, but your emotions are clouding your ability to see things clearly, and that is why you either need to learn to detach from your emotions, or find someone driven by logic, who can calmly walk you through an escape plan- to a better place where you can see things more clearly. As a divorce lawyer, my job is to hatch escape plans every day. The reason I can do this so easily is precisely because I am emotionally detached from the situation, and I can rely entirely on logic and past patterns to forecast what will play out down the line. Unfortunately, someone who is experiencing severe pain, distress, or is living in fear (whether brought on as a result of deep-seeded issues or external forces) is not going to be able to think or see clearly, and s/he will therefore not be exercising his/her best judgment. To make smart choices, you [...]
What Are You Doing on Giving Tuesday?
There are so many hyped-up events that I now refuse to take part in, but Giving Tuesday is actually one that I do enjoy. It's important to remember those less fortunate then us, especially during the holidays. If you can't afford to donate money, then at least donate some time. Many great local causes need volunteers, and last year on MMCTV I tried to feature at least one non-profit each month that was doing something to help families in our area. One of my favorites was actually the Storybook Project, which helps record mother's reading stories to their children. It was a very humbling experience to spend a day in prison last year around the holidays, and because I found it so moving, I am doing that again this year. Stripped of jewelry and my phone, subject to being frisked and then surrounded everywhere by cameras that monitor every move made behind a wired fence in the middle of no where is perhaps a bit extreme, and that is fine-- you don't have to go to such lengths to be reminded of how fortunate we are in our daily lives. But do something. Helping Junior Achievement this spring at a local middle school was incredibly rewarding, and all it took was one hour of my time for 5 weeks. [...]